


our love ain't water under the bridge

by allhalethekings



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emissary!Stiles, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 09:57:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5864806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allhalethekings/pseuds/allhalethekings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Hey,” Stiles hears from above him. “I’m Derek, and you are?”</p><p>“Not in the mood,” Stiles says. “Go away.”</p><p>“That’s not nice.”</p><p>He can practically hear the smirk in the dude’s voice, which is admittedly very nice. So Stiles looks up, intent to just tell whoever it was to just fuck off because goddammit, today is not a good day for this shit but the words get caught in his mouth when he sees the most glorious fucking pair of thick eyebrows he’s ever seen. Oh, and beautiful unicorn eyes. Space unicorn eyes because the longer he stares at them, the more he could swear he can see the answers to the universe in them.</p><p>“I’m trying to be nice and you’re not making it easy,” the guy says.</p><p>“I’m trying to ignore your very weak attempt at hitting on me and you’re not making it easy,” Stiles snipes back but the smile only gets wider. Jesus, Hot Douchenozzle has adorable bunny teeth.</p><p>“How about I get you a drink and you put your phone away and try enjoying the party?”</p><p>“How about you fuck off?”</p><p>“I like a challenge.”</p><p>“Great, I’ll add that tidbit of information with all the tidbits I don’t care about,” Stiles replies. “Now go away.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	our love ain't water under the bridge

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bistiles (alis)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alis/gifts).



> For @bistiles, who wanted Emissary!Stiles for the 1k+ giveaway prompt. Um, this is Spark!Stiles and his magic being awesome - I think. Anyways, it got annoyingly long because plot kept trying to happen and then it’s you so I HAD to have some porn so then it just evolved. Anyways, thank you bb and I hope you like it <3 <3 
> 
> *Unbeta’d so all mistakes are my own*
> 
> Warning spoilers at the end. Let me know if any more tags need to be added.

“You don’t have to do this,” Scott murmurs from behind him. He’s standing on the porch, glaring at the way Stiles is loading up his Jeep with his laptop bag and duffel bag.

Stiles doesn’t answer. He slams the Jeep’s door shut and looks back at Scott, folding his arms across his chest.

“I’m serious, Stiles.”

“Scott—“

“No, listen!”

In a flash, Scott jumps down from the porch and lands only a couple of feet away from him. Stiles rolls his eyes; Scott’s been getting a little too excited about being able to jump like that these days.

“Scott, how about we be adults about this?”

“He hurt you once, he’ll do it again,” Scott insists. “I don’t want him anywhere near you. You don’t owe _him_ or his pack anything.”

Stiles levels him with a sharp look. “That doesn’t mean we leave them in the hands of that psycho.”

“We’re not leaving them in her hands,” Scott huffs, rolling his eyes when Stiles raises a single brow at him. “I say we send them to Deaton.”

“You mean Deaton who’s taken off with Morrell on a soul-searching journey to Japan,” Stiles points out.

“Oh, right.” Scott frowns. Stiles offers him a reassuring smile, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Look, I get that you’re concerned but I’m not going there for him. I’m going there because it’s the right thing to do,” Stiles says. “You, of all people, should understand wanting to do the right thing no matter what.”

Scott looks away, turning his glare to the oak tree in the front yard. “I still don’t like it.”

“I don’t either but I still have to help. Talia reached out to me specifically because she and I both know I’m the only one skilled enough to restore the balance of their land and ward it well.”

“I wish I could go with you, man.”

Stiles offers him a reassuring smile. “Trust me, man. I have no interest in Derek Hale anymore. Besides, I’m only gone for a few days. I’ll be back before you know it,” Stiles winks, grinning. 

He squeezes Scott’s shoulder and that seems to do the trick because the next thing Stiles knows, Scott has his arms around him in a tight grip and is nuzzling his cheek in a very obvious attempt to scent him.

Five minutes later, Stiles piles into his Jeep and peels away, heading for highway road to Beacon Hills.

* * *

 

_“Hey,” Stiles hears from above him. He doesn’t even have to pause the furious typing on his phone to know that it’s probably some fratboy douche who thought he’d hit on the one guy who’s so clearly not at the party with anyone else and try his luck. But no thank you, because Stiles is not in the mood to deal with that right now. He’s had a monumentally terrible day, filled with asshole TAs who obviously thought the world revolved around them because they controlled your grade. “I’m Derek, and you are?”_

_“Not in the mood,” Stiles says, brows scrunching in confusion as he tries to comprehend Scott’s umpteenth text about Allison’s dimples. “Go away.”_

_“That’s not nice.”_

_He can practically hear the smirk in the dude’s voice, which is admittedly very nice. So Stiles looks up, intent to just tell whoever it was to just fuck off because goddammit, today is not a good day for this shit but the words get caught in his mouth when he sees the most glorious fucking pair of thick eyebrows he’s ever seen. Oh, and beautiful unicorn eyes. Space unicorn eyes because the longer he stares at them, the more he could swear he can see the answers to the universe in them._

_Immediately after he realizes how breathtakingly gorgeous the guy is, he notices another fact: he’s a wolf. The Spark inside him flares up in response but he tamps it down because this is a college campus and this dude isn’t the first wolf, or even another supernatural creature, he’s come across. From the way his eyes widen in surprise and the not-so-subtle sniff of the air, Stiles notices the wolf must realize that Stiles isn’t just human but like Stiles, he opts to say nothing._

_“Uh - what.”_

_“I’m trying to be nice and you’re not making it easy,” the guy says, lazy smile on his face. He takes a long sip from the red cup he’s holding, eyes never leaving Stiles._

_“I’m trying to ignore your very weak attempt at hitting on me and you’re not making it easy,” Stiles snipes back, hoping to wipe the smile from the hot douchenozzle’s mouth but the smile only gets wider. Jesus help Stiles, Hot Douchenozzle has adorable bunny teeth._

_“How about I get you a drink and you put your phone away and try enjoying the party?”_

_“How about you fuck off?”_

_“You know, I like a challenge.”_

_“Great, I’ll add that tidbit of information with all the tidbits I don’t care about,” Stiles replies, narrowing his eyes at this beautiful gorgeous frustrating asshole who won’t leave him alone. “Now go away.”_

_The guys throws one last smirk at Stiles, tips his cup towards him in acknowledgement, and saunters away._

_Stiles absolutely does not check out the way those jeans hug his beautiful ass as he’s leaving. Shut up._

 

_Three weeks later, Stiles runs into Hot Douchenozzle once again; this time, at the library._

_His footsteps falter because there’s an empty seat near the back of third floor, shielded to the outside world by rows and rows of bookshelves. It’s one of Stiles’s favourite spots in the entire library but he looks around, undecided on whether or not he should bother approaching the guy. The choice is taken out of his hands when the guy, who’s still just as remarkably good-looking as he was three weeks ago, looks up from his book, eyes roaming the area before they settle on Stiles. The huge caterpillars on his face he calls eyebrows jump up and his lips quirk into a tiny smile. He nods at the seat across the table, already starting to clear the area that various pens and highlighters have rolled to. Stiles throws him a polite smile and takes the seat. He rakes his brain for the name attached to the face but comes up blank._

_Up close, Stiles can see how beautiful the guy really is. His face is strong, polished with just a hint of stubble, around a pair of lips that Stiles is just aching to feel, all up close and personal. The desire of it all surprises him because he distinctly remembers how douchey the guy came across at the party but apparently, Stiles’s dick doesn’t seem to get the message._

_“Gonna keep staring at me or you gonna study?” Hot Douchenozzle asks and Stiles jerks back. He doesn’t even look up at Stiles, just gives a cocky, self-satisfied smirk at the laptop as his fingers fly over the keyboard._

_“Just waiting to see when those caterpillars you call eyebrows are gonna turn into butterflies and fly away,” Stiles responds sweetly when his brain snaps back to attention. The guy huffs a small laugh, eyes quickly flickering to Stiles before they turn their attention back to his notes. It only takes that one second for Stiles to notice how gorgeous his eyes are, all greys and greens and browns. Jesus, Stiles never had a chance against this dude, did he?_

_Stiles waits for the guy to say something else as he fishes out his own laptop and his psychology textbook. Stiles settles into his midterm studying routine but the guy doesn’t say anything. The study quietly for a few hours and Stiles almost forgets that he was even sitting across from him, only remembering when a scrap piece of paper gets placed by his textbook. It only says ‘Derek’ followed by a ten-digit number._

_By the time Stiles looks up, the guy - Derek - is long gone._

* * *

 

Beacon Hills is only a few hours from Sacramento, where Stiles and Scott now live, and those hours usually fly by when Stiles drives. But this time, it feels like ever minute is barely crawling by.

There’s a churning sensation, low in Stiles’s stomach, that feels like a thousand butterflies are stuck in there, all itching to fly around. He almost pulls off the road several times to keep himself from having a full-blown panic attack. The only way he keeps them at bay is he’s able to recognize the early signs of an impending attack and immediately starts counting backwards from one hundred and breathing slow and deep.

It’d been five years since Stiles first met Derek Hale at a random frat party in college and four-and-a-half years since Derek broke Stiles’s heart.

Actually, broke would be an understatement. More like shattered it into an infinite number of pieces and left those pieces scattered around on the ground.

Following that particularly amazing college experience, Stiles did what many do after an ugly breakup; he questioned everything about himself, fell headfirst into a vat of misery and heartbreak, gorged on five tubs of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked ice cream, and then followed that by spending the next six months fucking anyone who looked twice his way in a poorly thought out effort to get Derek out of his mind.

He made sure none of the guys he fucked were tall, dark-haired with adorable little bunny teeth, and a serious case of soft stubble.

It was only when Scott cornered him and forced him to talk everything out that Stiles finally started to move on. Looking back on it, sometimes he felt stupid because he couldn’t wrap his head around how a six-month relationship left him so broken but truth is, he and Derek had gone from zero to a hundred in all of a week.

Sure, they’d had a rocky start but one thing was always clear; there was an initial attraction between them that blazed like fire. Their conversations were fuelled with sarcastic banter and dry wit making the sex all that much more playful and scintillating. Stiles hadn’t even realized it but slowly, Derek had started to fill in the cracks he didn’t know he had, fitting in seamlessly. Derek got under his skin, crawled in deeper than anyone else had thought to, and by the end of it all, had ruined Stiles for everyone else.

So it’s really no surprise that a week ago when Talia Hale sent him an official request asking him for help against a particularly vindictive Druid, Stiles was pretty torn about what to do. He’d held the letter in his hands for a solid hour, staring at it, rereading the words over and over again to see if it was worth going. He’d asked Scott about it for obvious reasons but at the end of the day, for all the formality that Talia’s words held, Stiles could sense an underlying desperation within them.

Understandably, Stiles had agreed to her request. His fingers shook as he wrote off a hasty letter letting her know when to expect him and he sent it off before he could change his mind.

Before he knows it, Stiles crosses into the Beacon Hills borders and main road through downtown, passing all sorts of shops and boutiques. Downtown slowly gives way to the more residential parts of the town before the rows of houses turn into a house or two every couple of miles, only to be replaced by rows and rows of trees. The road becomes more narrow until he approaches a fork in the road, some fifty miles since passing the _Welcome to Beacon Hills_ sign. He checks his phone quickly for the directions he’d noted down and takes a right, bracing himself for the bumps and potholes along the way.

The road, if anyone can even call it that, is just big enough to fit two cars side-by-side. For a second, Stiles thinks he’s got the wrong road but then the road ahead clears up and he sees a large black wrought iron entry gate with an intricate design focused around an ‘H’ in the middle. Stiles pauses, unsure of how to proceed since the gate is shut but then it swings open.

“Holy shit,” Stiles mutters to himself, peering out through the front windshield, taking in the large, regal mansion in front of him. He drives past the gate, noting the beautiful wrap-around driveway with a small fountain in the middle. He knew the Hales were an old, established pack and had practically founded Beacon Hills but he didn’t picture this, even in his wildest dreams. They were seriously loaded.

He’d barely parked the car by the front steps to the house when the door swung open to reveal a tall, dark-haired woman. Stiles didn’t even need to think about who she could be; much like any other Alpha of an old pack, Talia Hale has quite the presence, strong and commanding.

“Stiles, welcome to Beacon Hills,” she welcomes him, smiling. Stiles shakes the hand she holds out.

“Glad I could be of help,” he answers, giving her a small smile of his own.

The house is quiet when they head inside. Stiles feels a little out of place as he looks around, taking note of the elegant mahogany staircase and shiny hardwood flooring.

Twenty minutes later finds him seated in the living room with almost the entire Hale clan. Much like Talia, Laura and Cora both have long dark hair but where Laura has a mature, almost regal air about her, much like Talia, Cora seems more childish and free. As soon as Stiles had been introduced to everyone, he tries to figure out the extent to which they knew of him. To his immense relief, Talia, her husband Seth, her younger brother Peter, and his wife, Sonya, knew of him as the emissary to Scott’s pack. But when he shook hands with Laura and Cora, there was a slight gleam of recognition in their eyes.

Talia explains that Derek’s running errands to the grocery store and then to the bakery for some fresh dinner rolls. Stiles thanks every deity known to him that Derek wasn’t there too.

“What does Deaton have to say about all this?” Stiles asks, looking over the old map of Beacon Hills. There are blue stickers around various parts of the Preserves and a couple of red stickers around parts of town; the old motel on the edge of the town borders, somewhere in the downtown area, the local high school.

“Deaton says she’s already in town. The red circles are all the places he’s been able to sense her residual energy. The blue circles are all the places in the Preserve that he’s felt her magic, almost like an imprint,” Peter offers, pointing to the corresponding places on the map.

Stiles nods, folding the map so he can slip it in his messenger bag. “I think she’s probably staying at the motel but I’m interested to know why she’s been visiting downtown and the high school. I’ll take a look tomorrow, if that’s cool. In the mean time, have you noticed anything specific about the places in the Preserve that she’s been going to?”

They all exchange a look. “Not really,” Talia offers finally. “But we have our suspicions.”

“And they are?” Stiles stares at them expectantly.

“We think she went to those parts of the Preserve for a specific reason,” Seth starts. “A few of those areas are quite close to the Nemeton but the rest might hold a completely different yet significant meaning for her - personally.”

Stiles frowns, taking the information in. “Okay, no matter. I noticed the wards around your territory lines are getting quite weak so I’ll put in some more wards for you and check that out at the same time.”

The Hales give him grateful smiles. Talia gets up, clapping her hands once. “Wonderful. How about Stiles you get settled in and then we can have dinner tonight?” She checks her watch. “Derek should be getting in any minute now so let’s freshen up, okay?”

There’s a low rolling feeling in his stomach at the mention of Derek and he doesn’t miss the furtive exchange of looks between Laura and Cora. The adults clear out almost immediately, with only Peter lingering briefly but he leaves as well. Stiles stares after them for a second before turning to Laura and Cora.

“Okay, out with it,” he says, motioning to them.

“Don’t know what you mean,” Cora answers, shrugging.

“You’re a shitty liar.” Stiles rolls his eyes. “I have a feeling both of you know exactly what happened between me and Derek and either you think I can’t be professional enough to help you when you really need it—“

“No, that’s not it,” Laura interrupts. “We just—“ She falls off short of an actual explanation, instead exchanges a helpless look with Cora. “Look, it’s been a long time since what happened between you two at school—“

“Damn straight,” Stiles almost snaps at her before taking a deep breath. “ Sorry. But exactly what you said. It’s been a long time and I’d rather not dig up old ghosts when it doesn’t mean anything. I only have a couple of days to spare here so I’d rather get this over with than spend time talking about shit that doesn’t matter anymore.”

Laura opens her mouth to argue but there must be something in Stiles’s face that stops her. He gathers up his things and starts to leave when Laura says, “He’s changed, Stiles. I’m not saying it because he’s my brother and I love him but from what I know happened between the two of you, we both know he regretted it the moment he got his head on straight.”

Stiles looks back, debating whether or not he should say something but changes his mind and heads up the stairs to the room he was shown. By the time he drops his messenger bag on the side of the bed and fishes his phone out of his pocket, Stiles is vibrating out of his skin. His heart is already beating, almost thunderously, in his chest and his hands are shaking with small tremors. He fiddles with his phone, twirling it around his hands in an low-key attempt at stabilizing his hands. Stiles allows himself no more than two minutes to calm himself, clenches his eyes and mouth shut, his teeth gritting, and forces himself to breathe solely through his nose. He counts each breath he takes; one - two - three - four - and on and on.

He gets to almost fifty before a knock interrupts him and his eyes fly open. Stiles opens the door, surprised to see Talia standing in front of him.

“Mrs. Hale, what—“

“Derek’s been taken,” Talia says, eyes glowing red, and Stiles’s heart stops.  

* * *

 

_When Derek finally gets his mouth on Stiles’s chest, tongue playing dirtily with his nipples, all swirling and teasing, Stiles wonders why it took so long for him to call Derek even though it’s been less than two weeks. Two weeks too long, he tells himself, panting.  At first, he was tempted to throw the number away but for some reason, he’d kept it, shoving it into the hoodie he was wearing that day at the library. He never went looking for it before today and only because his TA had ripped apart his last essay with slashes of red, had obliterated all of Stiles’s arguments and theories. Stiles needed some stress relief fast and if Derek would be the one to give him that, hey, Stiles has no complaints._

_Stiles arches up his body as an automated action to Derek biting at his nipples gently, as though he’s offering even more of himself than what’s already on the table. But that’s okay, because fuck, if this is what it means to be with Derek, he can have it all. He can have Stiles any way he wishes if this is any indication of things to come._

_“Fu-uck,” he groans at the way Derek’s tongue does little languid swirls around his happy trail and he can feel Derek smirking on his skin. “How the hell do you manage to do this shit to me every time?”_

_“Clearly I’m not doing a good job if you can still think in full sentences,” Derek snipes back, lifting his head. Stiles slides a hand through Derek’s hair, amazed at the softness. For all that it always looks gelled and immaculately in place, it’s surprisingly soft to the touch, almost luxuriously so._

_“No, no, get back to what you were doing,” Stiles says, pushing Derek’s head back to his body. Derek huffs and the small puff of air makes Stiles shiver in pleasure. God, what is his life if this is getting to him? Derek nips at his inner thigh, once, twice, thrice, before swallowing Stiles whole in one slick move. Stiles moans, fingers tightening in Derek’s hair, as Derek swirls his tongue around his dick. He pulls back enough to flicker his tongue over the head, full of teasing, no doubt enjoying the way Stiles squirms._

_Stiles makes a needy sound at the back of his throat and Derek takes the chance to cup his balls, pulling and tugging at them with just the right balance of gentleness and roughness that makes Stiles go wild. Jesus Christ, he has no idea where the fuck Derek learned to do this but he owes whoever was responsible his life. He opens his eyes, raking them over Derek’s ink black hair, and he can’t believe he gets to go home with someone like Derek._

_Derek strokes his balls, his fingers delightfully soft, before they slowly inch toward his hole. Derek pulls away, laughs at the greedy sound Stiles makes as he bucks his hips up, and rubs the tip of his dick with his hands, wetting his fingers with the pre-cum leaking from his dick. Derek gives Stiles’s dick one last tug before slowly pushing Stiles’s legs further apart and crawling up his body, settling himself over him so that both their dicks line up._

_“Fuck, you’re killing me,” Stiles groans, rubbing his dick against Derek’s. He gives himself a pat on the back at the way Derek hisses in pleasure before dipping down to capture Stiles’s lips in a heated kiss. Using one hand to keep himself over Stiles, Derek glides the pre-cum slicked hand down Stiles’s back stopping just above his hole. Derek waits for barely one second before he starts to tease at his hole, slowly, lightly running his fingers around the pucker. “Ah - shit, shit, shit!”_

_“Pun intended?” Derek smirks into Stiles’s shoulder, nipping at the skin there. He laughs openly when Stiles smacks him on the ass._

_“You’re such an asshole!”_

_“Are you aware that you’re still doing it?” Derek grins when it earns him another smack._

_“Are you aware that you’re still being a goddamn tease? Fuck what the hell is it going to take for you to get your fingers in me?”_

_“As you wish.”_

_Stiles hisses when Derek bites him and times it perfectly with sliding a finger inside him. He groans, revelling in the pleasure of feeling Derek’s finger move in and out, slowly, methodically like it’s trying to feel out the tightness. Derek curls his finger at the next thrust, greedily absorbing the pretty sounds that come out of Stiles’s mouth._

_“That’s it,” Stiles whispers, arching his body up. “Almost ready for another one.”_

_“I’m going to take you apart so slowly and drive you crazy tonight,” Derek promises, kissing Stiles, licking into his mouth. “Gonna ruin you for everyone else.”_

_“You gonna keep talking or actually gonna deliver on all your big talk?” Stiles croaks, biting his lower lip. He peeks up at Derek and a heated thrill runs through his body when he sees the wolfish look on Derek’s face, like he’s about to make good on his promise to ruin Stiles. Not that Stiles wants to complain. He’d spent long days imagining what it’d be like to have Derek fuck him and now that it’s finally happening, Stiles doesn’t want to stop._

_Another hiss erupts from his mouth when Derek pushes another finger into hole, sliding them in and out painfully slow. Stiles curls his fingers over Derek’s shoulder blades, digging his nails in when the sharp hit of pleasure fills him. When he looks at Derek again, his eyes are flashing a beautiful iridescent blue and it only makes Stiles want him even more. He traces Derek’s eyebrows with his fingers, loves the way Derek twitches just slightly so._

_“They’re beautiful,” he murmurs, staring deeply into those luminescent orbs. He’s rewarded by a small ghost of a smile and it astounds Stiles how young and innocent Derek manages to look with the small dimples on his cheeks. In that moment, Stiles forgets the cocky, arrogant impression Derek first made on him; this is a wholly different guy and this is the guy Stiles wants to keep. Derek leans down, placing a sweet kiss on his lips._

_“Bet you my view is better,” he says against Stiles’s lips._

_Stiles snorts inelegantly, is about to snark off in reply, but instead all that comes out is a breathy moan as Derek starts to scissor him with his fingers. The fingers start to move faster, each time digging in a little deeper, curling inside with more and more purpose. Derek slides his tongue inside Stiles’s mouth and that’s all it takes for the once-sweet kiss to turn absolutely filthy, wild sparks flying everywhere. But this time, Stiles matches Derek pace for pace, gives back as hard as he gets, in their little play-fight for dominance. He slides a free hand between their bodies, wraps it around both their cocks and pulls, revelling the way Derek’s body jerks in response._

_“Two can play that game,” Stiles challenges, eyes glinting in the dark. Derek gives him a feral grin and Stiles knows he’s in trouble but dear lord, if this is what trouble is, Stiles never wants it to end. He wants Derek like this all the time, wants to feel the weight of Derek’s body on his, wants to feel the way Derek can take him apart with his just fingers. Both of their cocks are slick with pre-cum and Stiles takes the chance to move his hand up and down, teasing the head of Derek’s dick with his thumb. “God, I’m not gonna last any longer.”_

_Derek doesn’t say anything but does start to rut faster, adding to the pleasure. There’s a sharp heat pooling low in his spine, begging to be released, begging to just let go but Stiles tries valiantly to just hold it in. But Derek must see-through what he’s trying to do because he introduces a third finger just when he bears down on Stiles and really, that’s all it takes for Stiles to come all over his chest, gasping, with Derek following not two seconds later._

_They move towards each other for another kiss but by this point, it’s more just breathing into each other mouths, riding the wave of pleasure to the very end as their chests rise up and down with each pant._

_“Fuck, we’re doing that again,” Stiles mutters when he’s got all his bearings straight which admittedly takes a lot longer than he’d like. Derek grins, all toothy and soft._

_“Don’t worry, I’ve got plans for you,” he mutters against Stiles’s jaw, bites at it gently._

_“Fuck yeah,” Stiles breathes._

* * *

 

“My, oh my,” a voice stops him in his tracks. “Look what we have here.”

 _Well, that took under an hour_ , Stiles thought. He’d barely made it past one mile into the Preserve after repeatedly assuring Talia to let him venture on his own to see if he could find any traces of Derek. It’d taken a lot of patience to convince a family of werewolves not to just rush into the woods themselves and howl into the winds to call on Derek but he’d managed it. The Preserve was big - if the blue stickers were any indication of Julia Buccari’s reach, he couldn’t have them swarming into a potential trap. Especially not when Deaton’s not around to fix any messes left behind.

Stiles freezes, hand still raised upright, palm facing the sky. He turns around to bushes rustling in the wind before the air around him shifts to something darker, something noticeably charged, making the hair on the back of head stand up. He feels his own magic, his spark, beginning to flare up, almost like it’s waiting to strike akin to a cobra at its prey. Thin wisps of white smoke begin to curl around his feet and he looks around maddeningly, trying to find the source. The wisps soon get thicker until the white smoke all but envelopes the lower quarter of his body, becomes so dense that he can hardly even see the leaves and twigs that litter the forest floor.

“Seriously?” he mutters under his breath. “This is so tacky.”

“You’re right,” the voice speaks again, this time from his right and he whirls around but still sees nothing. Slowly, the smoke begins to part and he hears a faint snapping of the twigs and dead leaves before a tall woman emerges. She gives him a shark-like grin, clapping mockingly. “I’m so glad you could join us, Stiles. You were the only missing part and you know, for a second, I was almost concerned you wouldn’t show up.” Stiles must give her a bemused look because she rolls her eyes. “You know, because of your history with a certain werewolf and all.”

“Whom you have,” Stiles murmurs.

The woman shrugs casually. “Well I had to draw you out somehow.”

“You’re Julia Buccari,” Stiles mentions and she laughs. “The Lost Druid.”

“Two for two, Stiles! Good job,” she says, tone almost patronizing.

It’s then that Stiles remembers what she said. “Wait, you said us. ‘So glad you could join us’.”

She grins, sharp and all teeth. She snaps her fingers and another larger figure emerges behind her. It’s not until the figure halts just behind her and Stiles sees who it is that his breath catches in his throat and his eyes fly open in alarm. Five years has done Derek good. He looks much older now, there’s almost a softened quality to his face that was rarely present during college. That Derek was all cocky smirks and typical fratboy attitude but this Derek is more grown up - more mature. This Derek seems more settled in his age. Stiles has barely taken one step forward before Julia tsks and he notices the vacant look in Derek’s eyes. Almost immediately, Stiles searches his brain for a spell - any spell - that could counter the affects of whatever hold Derek was under but Julia just smirks.  

“Uh, uh,” she warns, eyes glinting with delight. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. See, I’ve got dearest Derek in a charming little vacation from his mind. Sadly, I’m the only one who can bring him back but go ahead and try if you really must. I can’t guarantee it won’t hurt him though.” She shrugs. “Though, really, what do I care? I’ve got you and he’s the same use to me alive or dead.”

Stiles takes a shaky breath. “Derek? Can you hear me? Derek, please, come on, come back.”

He hates how small his voice gets, all scared and broken, and he tries to inch forward but Derek’s eyes flash at him, threatening. Julia titters at him.

“Stiles, please. don’t insult my—“

“Derek, come on!” Stiles yells, putting a little spark into his voice and for a brief millisecond, he thinks he sees something akin to recognition on Derek’s face before it’s replaced by the same blank expression. All smiles and laughs leave Julia and she gives him a feral smile.

“Okay, playtime’s over,” she snaps. “Derek, darling, you know what to do.”

Stiles has barely taken a step back before Derek practically jumps from behind Julia to right in front of him. There’s only a second’s worth of a pause before Derek’s hand swings out, bashing Stiles’s head against the tree behind him, and then all there’s left is a sheer, blinding pain emanating from his head. Stiles stumbles back at the brute force behind the hit, tries to hold himself up by gripping the tree, but goes down almost immediately. Stiles tries to feel the wound on his head, gritting his teeth and hissing at the sharp jab of pain the action sends, his hand coming back wet, gooey, cloaked in crimson stains.

The last thing Stiles sees is the violent snarl on Derek’s face before one Derek start to become two and then three and darkness overtakes him.

* * *

 

_The thing is, Stiles was prepared for a lot of things because that’s what he does. With the overactive imagination that he has and the supernatural shit he used to face on a daily basis ever since Scott was bit by a rogue Alpha in high school, the one thing Stiles becomes adept at doing is immediately coming up with the worst case scenario. Sometimes, he did it to a fault; actively ruined a really good thing with his paranoia and his constant overthinking. So for the life of Stiles, he never thought this thing with Derek, this so-called relationship, would last as long as it did._

_He never thought they’d make it past the first week. He’d seen Derek flirt his way into bars and into cabs with his new flavour of the week all too many times to believe he would be any different. Stiles always knew what he was getting when he got unbelievably wasted that first night and found himself dragging Derek back to his apartment and letting him fuck Stiles raw. But then one night became two and then three and before Stiles knew it, they’d been sleeping together for well over a month-and-a-half._

_So then he thinks, okay, maybe they’re just doing this thing where they sleep together and that’s it. But then Derek starts to share stuff about himself. Stuff that’s way too personal to share with that random guy who you fuck every couple of days. And in return, Stiles finds himself talking about his mom and his dad and Scott. He talks about what he wants to do with his life, how he wants to take off and travel for a year, how he’s been self-teaching himself a lot of this whole Emissary stuff since Scott became a True Alpha and needed someone to keep things in balance. So they start to have those deeper, meaningful conversations more and more and slowly, the sex changes too._

_It used to be that Stiles and Derek would go out, get drunk, and grind together in the middle of of the dance floor in that filthy way that made people around them give them weird looks. The night would end with sloppy blowjobs in a dark corner tucked away deep in the club towards the back before they’d stumble out the back door and into a taxi to either one of their apartments. It used to be that they’d throw each other on the bed, strip each other of all clothes in record time, and fuck each other so hard the headboard would bang against the wall, all the while leaving one or both of them practically seeing stars. It used to be fast, just about getting each other off in the best way they knew how, all hips snapping hard enough for skin to smack skin, fingers leaving red imprints from gripping skin so tightly. It used to be all wild and carefree._

_But then, it became more than just about getting each other off. It became slow, languid. It became all about holding each other’s gaze as deft fingers unbuttoned shirts and unzipped the jeans. It became more about the kisses they shared in between, more about the way their fingers would inevitably end up entwined, more about how they’d hold each other close enough to feel the small puffs of air with each thrust, their backs arching, pushing their chests closer together, in pleasure. Slowly, it became more intimate and more deeper than what Stiles had hoped for._

_The fault was with Stiles, really. He got too comfortable, too wrapped up in his little glimpse of happiness, to think it wouldn’t all go to shit._

_Because that’s exactly when it did._

_When it happens, it feels like someone threw a bottle of ice cold water at his face. His heart roars in his chest at the sight before him, all sense of feeling evaporating from his body only to be replaced by sheer numbness. He must have stood there gaping for a solid minute because that’s how long it takes for Derek to notice him and pull away from the girl he was with._

_“What the fu—“ Stiles barely gets out. His hands clench into fists at his sides._

_“Stiles, what are you doing here?” Derek asks, frowning. There’s not a mark of guilt or shame on his face, just confusion._

_“I should be asking her the same question, right?” Stiles bites, motioning at the dark-toned girl. She gazes back at him coolly, like she doesn’t want to stand for this shit, before she looks at Derek._

_“I think I’ll come back later. Call me when you deal with this mess,” she murmurs and leaves, but not before giving Stiles a condescending side eye and yeah, Stiles has never felt so humiliated in his life._

_“What the hell were you doing with that girl, Derek?” Stiles asks, eyes burning with unshed tears._

_“I - what, I’m confused. What’s wrong?” Derek asks, stepping towards him, holding out an arm to reach him but Stiles flinches back._

_“What’s wrong? Oh you know, it’s totally normal for me to come here to see you fucking cheating on me!”_

_Derek’s frown deepens. “Cheating? Wha - Stiles, what are you talking about?”_

_“Cheating. You know that thing people do when they fuck up a relationship by macking on a person other than the one they’re supposed to be with?!” Stiles snarls, his hurt giving way to anger._

_Derek does a double-take. “Relationship? Stiles, what the hell are you talking about?”_

_This. This is when Stiles feels a second bottle of ice cold water thrown at his face._

_“Us, Derek. We were in a relationship,” Stiles replies, voice hoarse and unsure. “…Right?”_

_“Stiles—“_

_“Yes or no, Derek?  Were we in a relationship?”_

_Derek’s hesitation gives him the answer._

_“Fucking hell,” Stiles mutters, hands beginning to quiver. He feels sick to his stomach. “I feel so fucking dumb.”_

_“Stiles, listen, let’s talk about—“_

_He gives a harsh laugh. “I don’t think there’s anything left to talk about, do you? Apparently, I’ve just been making a fool of myself for the past six months believing that there was something more here.”_

_“I - I didn’t know that’s what you wanted, Stiles.”_

_“But you just wanted sex, right?”_

_“I just thought it was all sex,” Derek murmurs. “I thought we were on the same page.”_

_Stiles shakes his head, steps back towards the door. He wipes the stray tears from his face, runs a hand through his hair in an ill-fated attempt to make it stop trembling. “We talked, Derek, like really talked! You telling me all those long conversations meant nothing? That was just you oversharing because you always share personal shit with just anyone?”_

_“That was just me talking to you. Stiles, I don’t understand. You and Scott have those conversations too and you and Lydia and Allison. I thought that’s what it was like,” Derek answers. “Us sleeping together was completely separate. It wasn’t anything special.”_

_“I guess it’s my fault then, huh. Typical of me, I guess. I always do that, you know. I always overcomplicate things, always wear my heart on my sleeve, and give it away to the first guy to give me some attention I guess.” Stiles gives a shaky laugh. “You have nothing to apologize for. This is on me, as per fucking usual.”_

_“Stiles—“ Derek reaches out again but Stiles just moves back because he can tell by the way Derek’s face moulds into something akin to pity that he’s not guilty or ashamed. He’s just sorry that Stiles complicated things. But the longer he stares at Derek, the more he realizes that Derek wants nothing of the sort. Derek wanted something simple, something primal. Stiles is the idiot who started thinking with his heart instead of his dick._

_“I think it’d be best if we don’t see each other for a while,” Stiles whispers, rubbing a hand down his face._

_He waits for a beat, waits for Derek to reach out to him one last time, maybe say that he wants to try to be with Stiles, maybe he wants to give this a shot and that it doesn’t matter what happened because he’s realized after all this that he really wants Stiles to stick around in his life. But Derek does nothing of the sort. Just stands there like he’s feeling out of place in his own apartment, like he wants to hightail it out just to get away from his whole thing that Stiles just jerks his head to the side and stumbles out the door, slamming it shut behind him._

* * *

 

When Stiles wakes up, he’s tied to a chair, flaxen rope keeping him in place no matter how much he struggles. There’s a crick in his neck and he moves his head side-to-side to ease the discomfort but it doesn’t really help all that much. That’s when he notices the second body in the room, one that’s held up by heavy-duty cuffs locked around large, rusty metal bars. _Derek_ , his mind supplies and Stiles starts to struggle harder.

“Derek!” he yells, rattling against the chair in an attempt to pull himself free. “Derek, wake up!”

The yelling has little affect on Derek so Stiles shakes his hands, tries to see if he can produce any kind of spark out of himself to untie himself but nothing happens. “Derek! Come on, wake up!”

“Oh darling, you must stop yelling. You’re hurting my ears and they’re quite sensitive,” Julia says from behind him and Stiles twists his head around, stretching as far out as possible without straining his neck muscles. It doesn’t matter really because she moves into his line of sight anyways, standing in between himself and where Derek hangs, head pulled towards his chest.

She smiles at him and moves closer to Derek, pulls his head up so Stiles can see the presence of the same vacant expression on his face. It’s only when Julia runs a hand down Derek’s face, whispering a few words under her breath that he blinks. Stiles can tell the second he must notice the situation because Derek’s eyes flash and he shifts almost immediately—or at least he tries. The only thing he can manage in his shift is flashing his eyes and baring his fangs.

“Welcome back, Derek,” Julia coos, patting Derek’s cheek, completely unafraid. Derek roars but even that doesn’t elicit a response from the Druid. “Uh uh, Derek. It’s not nice to be rude when we have special guests.” She motions to Stiles, drawing Derek’s attention to him. From the surprised look on Derek’s face, clearly he wasn’t expecting to see Stiles any time soon.

“Stiles?” Derek’s voice is hoarse, small. His eyes flash again and he roars once again, this time fuelled with a raw kind of anger Stiles didn’t know he was even capable of, at Julia but she merely rolls her eyes. “Let him go,” he growls through his fangs.

“Why would I do that? It’s taken me so much trouble to finally get the both of you in one place. It would be counterproductive for me to actively ruin my own hard work,” she scoffs.

“What do you even want from us?” Stiles asks through clenched teeth.

“Power,” she shrugs. “Isn’t everything always about power?”

“You want me, you can have me,” Derek says. “Let Stiles go.”

“Aw, that’s cute. But he’s kind of integral to my plan so no can do, darling!”

“Are you just going to talk in circles or can we expect the classic villain monologue any time soon?” Stiles bites out. The sass earns him a painfully stinging sensation in his head and he hisses in pain.

“Mind your tone, Stiles,” Julia says, tone sharp and all traces of humour gone from her face. “But since you asked, I guess I can share. I’m sure you know what I am by now—“

“Lost Druid,” Stiles interrupts and she nods, clapping her hands.

“Three for three, Stiles. I’m so glad you’re one of the smarter ones I’ve managed to deal with. Seriously, some of the other ones were so unbelievably dumb,” Julia huffs before her face brightens again. “Yes, I’m indeed a Lost Druid, which admittedly is just a fancy term for Druids who strayed so far off the path of balance that our souls were considered to be lost. We’d be denounced from our societies, from our identities, all because we dared to forge a path not followed by the rest.”

“You tried to play God,” Stiles grits. “You sacrificed seven people in an attempt to gain immortality!”

“The immortality that all Druids _should_ be granted for all that we do in order to maintain the balance and create normalcy within chaos,” Julia argues. “Unfortunately for the two of you, the only way for Lost Druids to regain their sense of self and get their full powers back is by offering a worthy sacrifice to the old Celtic gods and goddesses.”

“Seems kind of counterproductive,” Derek snarks, narrowing his eyes at her. She shrugs.

“I don’t make the rules, sweetheart. Anyways, the ancient books say the sacrifices must show the farthest extent a Lost Druid is willing to go because only then the gods above can judge whether or not the Druid deserves a second chance. But I’m sure you’re wondering where the two of you come into play. See, legends have it that one of the purest, most blessed forms of sacrifice a Lost Druid can offer is a Spark and his bonded wolf.”

Stiles’s eyes fly open at the last bit because - _what_. Julia raises her eyebrows in disbelief when he voices that sentiment. “Oh come on, Stiles. You can’t try to fool—“

“Derek is _not_ my bonded wolf,” Stiles snaps, ignoring Derek’s flinch. “I would have known if he was!”

Julia rolls her eyes. “My, oh my, Stiles. Surely you don’t need me to tell you that many times the bond can form without either the Spark’s or the wolf’s knowledge.”

Stiles feels his throat closing at the claim because _no_. There is no way in hell that he bonded with Derek. He would have known; he was always told how hypersensitive he is to his abilities and to his emotional connections to his anchors. Derek may have felt like his anchor but that was just when they had _sex_ ; it wasn’t even really anything to do with anchoring. It was just nice how Stiles would feel all open and bright the mornings after he and Derek tumbled into bed. But a bond? That’s wholly different because they happen in a flash, almost instantaneously when he saw the wolf he’s supposed to bond with but that hadn’t happened with Derek. Besides, Stiles would know if his mind forged a bond with Derek. Not with Derek because—

“But you’re right. Your bond didn’t just _happen_. It’s a rare one because it cultivated on its own. See, it’s incredibly rare for a Spark to bond with a wolf who’s not part of his pack. So the chances of you bonding with Derek - a _Hale_ wolf at that - was so out of my imagination that I couldn’t just believe my luck when I first saw the thin little threads forming while you were in college when I first saw you two. I’d been waiting for someone like you, Stiles, for so long and imagine my surprise when you picked _him_!” She motions to Derek, who snarls at the attention.

Stiles flits his eyes at Derek, who refuses to remove his gaze from Julia.

“The problem was, if I let the bond develop naturally, I would have missed my chance. After all, I only get a small window of opportunity to perform the ritual and much of it is dependent on the right moon when the Spark is the right age and blah blah blah.” She rolls her eyes, huffing, like this is oh-so-complicated for _her_. “So you see, I had to find a way to stall the completion of your bond. You needed to pass the twenty-fifth year of your life before I could use you for my purposes and remind me, Stiles, when was that again?”

“Last week,” Stiles answers, blood running cold in his veins. Julia hums in delight.

“Exactly! And what’s tonight?”

Stiles looks down, all the pieces falling into place in his head. “The last Blood Moon eclipse.” Julia nods, smirking.

“So you see, your bond had to wait. Thankfully, Derek here managed to fuck it up all by himself,” Julia titters and Stiles doesn’t miss the way Derek flinches, looking away with guilt painted all over his face. “I really thought I’d have to step in but he was so much like a butterfly before you two started your little thing, always flitting from one flower to the next, never settling down. And he did the same with you! Good for me, shitty for you but oh well! Anyways, I believe it’s almost time now, right?” Julia moves to the wall behind Derek, peaking out of the small window to see the sky. She hums contently and turns to both of them, an extra spring in her step. “We’re right on schedule!”

“You don’t have to do this,” Stiles says, fighting against the ropes. His heart starts to beat painfully loud in his chest at the thought of Derek being hurt. Stiles looks at Derek, fearful.

“Of course I do,” Julia frowns. She walks to Stiles first, brandishing a knife from her jacket, silver blade glinting in the darkened room and behind her, Derek roars, wrestling against his cuffs. Stiles waits for the inevitable to come but before it does, she places a hand on his cheek and closes her eyes. Her hand is ice cold against his rapidly heating skin and she begins to murmur a few words. Almost instantaneously, Stiles feels every part of his being calling out to Derek. It’s like the floodgates of emotions and been opened and there’s a fierce yearning pooling in his heart for the wolf. Stiles knew what this was and it was only the beginning.  

A bond between a Spark and the wolf had to happen naturally, organically. Much like when wolves mate, these bonds have their own timelines that have long been decided before a Spark even comes into their powers. If it’s stopped forcefully, it comes back with a dizzying response once it’s allowed to progress again. If it’s powerful enough, it can drive the Spark and the wolf mad as a lesson and punishment not to interfere with nature. The feedback of the bond’s magic can drive them insane when the power is unleashed.

Stiles clenches his teeth, hands molding themselves into fists as every part of his body begins to feel like it’s on fire. All other sensations fall away and he slumps forward, panting heavily at the onslaught of the bond’s magic finally hitting his mind, melding together with his soul. Small beads of sweat begin to form on his temples, his heart beating thunderously in his chest, as his lungs start to feel like they’re filling with water; it’s a sharp pain that renders him unable to breathe, making him lose control of his magic. Small sparks fly from his fingertips and it’s a final struggle against the ropes that finally break him free of his restraints, making him fall on down on the ground on his knees.

“Stiles!” He hears from somewhere around him but it’s a dull noise compared to the loud screech-like sound engulfing his mind. Stiles grips at his head with both hands, squeezes his eyes shut tightly in an effort to just stop all the noise but it’s of no use. The screeching in his mind only gets louder and louder and louder until—

He lets out a piercing scream. He feels a sprinkling of _something_ against his skin but he doesn’t know what it is. Everything around him starts to shake and he sees a flash of white curling around his mind, immersing him with more pain before all of it just _stops_.

It goes radio silent in his head and a deep sensation of calm begins to seep through his body. Everything dirty, everything horrible just falls away and when he raises his head to look up at Derek, something in his heart just starts to pull Stiles towards him, makes him want to fight against everything, wants to protect his wolf from the world, wants to tug Derek to his body and shield him from all the pain in the world.

Stiles pants, engulfing deep breaths of air to regulate his breathing, before he notices how Derek’s looking at him, all shocked and full of awe. Confused, Stiles looks around to the rest of the room only to notice tiny glass shards below each window, beautifully reflecting the moonlight. He gets up, stumbling back before fully regaining his balance and turns around the room. His eyes widen with surprise when he sees the Julia’s body lying in a pool of blood to the side, silver knife lying only a couple of feet away from her. Aside from a few blood splatters though, there’s no sign of blood on the knife.

“What happened?” Stiles croaks, turning back to Derek.

“You screamed and kind of just obliterated the windows?” Derek surmises, still bemused. He peers at Stiles like he doesn’t know how to react to what just happened. Stiles feels the same way, if he’s being honest. “The glass shards kind of attacked her.”

“They _attacked_ her?”

“It was weird. You screamed and the glass panels shattered but a few hovered by the broken windows for a second and then just shot straight at her,” Derek summarizes. “Also, mind letting me down?”

“Oh, right, yeah.”

“She’s got the keys on her,” Derek motions to Julia’s body. Stiles nods and gives her a quick pat down, relieved when he feels a key in her jacket pocket. He fishes it out and walks over to Derek, reaching up to unlock the cuffs. Up close, he feels the heat emanating from Derek’s body and his heart gives a jolt, thankful when Derek doesn’t comment on it. For his part, Derek just looks at Stiles and it kind of unnerves him to see those vivid green-hazelly eyes boring into his so intensely. Stiles moves away after the cuffs release Derek from their hold and looks around the room if only to avoid Derek’s stare.

Stiles contemplates what to do with Julia’s body but he knows the only way to really be sure she’ll be gone for good is to sprinkle her body with monkshood and mistletoe before cremating it. But that can be a problem for later. For the time being, he checks her pulse and mutters a quick slew of words that will ensure she can’t move before redirecting his attention to getting him and Derek out of the room.

“The door’s up there,” Derek says, tilting his head to behind Stiles and yep, there it is; an old, rickety door atop some equally old, rickety stairs.

“We should go. Your family’s been worried sick. Frankly I’m surprised they’re not here already,” Stiles tries to joke. Anything to avoid being so close to Derek on his own but Derek apparently has other plans because he catches Stiles’s arm and pulls him back to face him when Stiles tries to go to the stairs.

“We have to talk about this,” Derek says, determination evident in his tone.

“We don’t—“

“Stiles, the bond completed. I’m bonded to you; I’m yours. We need to talk about this. If not for us, then for our packs.” And yeah, Stiles can’t deny that logic but he’s exhausted right now, spent from the emotional energy. He cards a hand through his hair.

“Yeah, no, you’re right. But maybe later. We might have to hold a pack meeting for this anyways so we’ll see,” Stiles agrees. Derek looks like he wants to say more but in the end, he settles for just nodding.

“I’m holding you to it.”

* * *

 

The Hales are beyond thankful for Derek’s return. Laura and Cora both spend a solid five minutes just hugging Stiles, even if it’s incredibly awkward, especially when it turns into a group hug from everyone but Derek. Talia, on the other hand, offers her gratitude by presenting Stiles with a small token engrained with the pack’s triskelion. They have a lot to talk about, of course, because every single wolf was able to feel the presence of the bond between Stiles and Derek now but they knew it wasn’t important to rush on any decisions, considering Scott wasn’t even present.

In the end, they decided that Stiles would go home as soon as he wanted only to return the following weekend with Scott and Lydia to decide on any future actions.

Later, when Stiles is about to head upstairs to start packing and the rest of the Hale pack is having a puppy pile with Derek in the middle - much to Stiles’s amusement and Derek’s chagrin - that Talia pulls him aside and tells him what happened.  All Julia had needed was some of Stiles’s blood, Derek’s heart, and the influx of magical energy produced as the result of the bond fully realizing. Apparently, instead of the bond forcing all its power into Stiles in one go, it had exploded externally instead. What she hadn’t realized is that the bond protects the bonded pair above all else so when Julia had flared it for her own meaning, it had immediately recognized her as the threat and erupted towards her, protecting both Stiles and Derek.

As Talia tells him all this, all Stiles could do is nod imperceptibly. He’s utterly spent by the end of the conversation that when Talia asks him if he has any questions, he just says they’ll talk when Deaton comes back and both their packs have their meeting next weekend before leaving the office and heading up to his room.

Stiles is in his room packing the few things he’d taken out of his bag when there’s a knock on his door and this time when he opens, it’s Derek standing in front of him. Stiles freezes, unsure of what to do but manages to move aside just a bit, an action that Derek takes as an invitation to come in to the room.

There’s a tense silence between them, one that’s eventually broken by Derek. “I came to say I’m sorry,” he says, looking down at his feet.

 _God, even his voice sounds more settled and toned down_ , Stiles thinks. There’s no arrogance in his walk, no haughtiness in his voice; this is a brand-new Derek standing before him and Stiles doesn’t quite know what to do. Truth be told, back when everything went to shit, Stiles used to imagine what it’d be like to face Derek again. He’d imagine being taken over by this intense anger of being humiliated, maybe even punching Derek a couple of times even if it meant breaking his own hand in the process. Or quite the opposite. He’d imagine not even giving Derek the time of day, to just ignoring his presence like Stiles forgot all about his existence. Above all though, he just wanted to make him hurt.

But now that’s he’s finally in that moment, all of that fight leaves Stiles. He searches and searches but there’s no anger, no humiliation, no embarrassment within him anymore. It surprises Stiles to realize that he’s over everything, truly and honestly over it all.

“It’s okay,” Stiles answers and it really is. Derek raises a brow at him but Stiles shrugs. “Apparently I’m over it. Water under the bridge, right?”

Derek gives him a sharp look, like he can’t believe Stiles is about to excuse his mistakes so easily. “No it’s not okay. It’s not - what I did was shitty. So I’m sorry. “For everything. I - I should have done more. I realized that when you weren’t part of my life anymore and I didn’t see you anywhere. What we talked about; you were right, those weren’t just conversations and us sleeping together _was_ something special. Losing all that made me realize how important you were - _are_ \- to me. You didn’t deserve any of that hurt and I should have told you how I felt when I realized it for myself but by then I was convinced I’d already lost you and I didn’t want to take a chance that you’d give me even five minutes to explain myself. I should have fought harder.”

“Told me how you felt when you realized it? Realized what?”

“That somewhere along the lines of us messing around,” Stiles flinches, ready to move away but Derek hastily grabs at him, tightening his hold, and adds, “somewhere within those months, I fell in love with you; I just didn’t know I had.”

Derek moves closer, inching forward slowly as though Stiles is a caged animal, spooked easily, stopping only when he’s less than a hair’s width away from Stiles. “I’ve been in love with you for five years, Stiles, and I had no idea what to do about it because I’ve been a coward. I know I should have done a lot of things but I’ve been stupid and a coward,” he repeats again, voice so soft and tender that it sends shivers down Stiles’s spine. “It’s not water under the bridge because there’s no water and there’s no bridge. There’s just you and me and what we do after today.”

Derek moves back and Stiles immediately makes an aborted motion to pull him in closer because fuck, he’d be lying if he said he didn’t want this. There’s been a Derek-shaped hole in his heart for years and as much as he’d tried, nobody had come close to filling it the way Derek had. And nobody else could.

Stiles feels winded and he grips his fingers tightly to keep them from shaking, squeezes his eyes shut. “This is just the bond talking, Der—“

“Don’t do that,” Derek interrupts, narrowing his eyes at Stiles. “Don’t tell me how I feel about you. Our bond completed a few hours ago. I’ve been in love with you for five years. Don’t tell me it’s the bond. This is about me and you. The bond between a Spark and a wolf doesn’t need love; it doesn’t need romance or feelings of butterflies in stomachs. It just needs a strong emotional connection so the magic has a powerful tether,” Derek murmurs. “That strong emotion can just be friendship and plain old companionship so if that’s all you’ll give me, I’ll take that.”

Derek pauses, looking away with a tightening in his jaw that makes Stiles wants to rub his hand over it to relax it but he can hardly move.

“And if I want more?” Stiles asks, nervous. Derek whips his head back at him and it’s amazing how hopeful and relieved Derek looks.

“You - yeah?” Derek whispers, eyes wide. 

This time, Stiles moves forward until their chests are touching and slowly curls his hands around Derek’s waist, pulling him even closer. He tilts his head up just barely, letting Derek know that he’s okay with it, and his toes curl with happiness when Derek gets the signal and leans down to kiss him because dear all that is holy, Stiles _missed_ this. He missed the feel of Derek’s lips on his, the feel of Derek’s skin touching his, the weight of Derek’s presence anchoring him. He missed the blaze of fire his fingers would leave in their wake as they trailed down the length of his arms and entwined with his own, missed the wild electricity as their lips touched.

“Yeah,” Stiles breathes, breaking away just enough to regain his breath. “But I want romance this time and lots of it. I want movies and dates and stupid cheesy relationship milestones that make everyone else nauseous. I want this to be real this time.”

Derek huffs, a beautiful soft smile gracing his face. “Whatever you want. I’ll give you the moon if you ask for it.”

And in that moment, noting the fierce determination in Derek’s eyes at the proclamation, Stiles has no doubt in his mind that Derek would do it if he asked

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: Stiles and Derek start sleeping together and Stiles starts to think it becomes a relationship but Derek doesn't think that. So when Stiles walks in on Derek making out with someone else, he thinks Derek is cheating on Stiles but TECHNICALLY he's not. 
> 
> -
> 
> Hit me up at: [tumblr](http://hales-republic.tumblr.com) // [twitter](http://twitter.com/halesrepublic). 
> 
> Send me prompts, flail with me over Hoechlin's eyes, let's be friends - the whole shebang.


End file.
